Khloe Kardashian admits she feels ‘less connected’ to her son because of surrogacy

In the premiere episode of Hulu’s “The Kardashians,” Khloe gets very candid and vulnerable about the struggles she’s faced surrounding her son’s birth via surrogacy. At one point, she admits she’s having a hard time connecting to him the same way she did with her daughter, True, whom she carried herself.

In the pivotal scene, Khloe sits down with Scott Disick and sister Kim Kardashian—who also welcomed her third and fourth children, Chicago and Psalm, via surrogate.

“But a surrogate process—Kim knows—is very hard for me. It’s a mindf***. It is really the weirdest thing,” Khloe explains about her son, nine-month-old Tatum. “I do feel less connected. People do say it takes a minute to feel connected but Kim said hers was easy. This is not easy.”

She also recalls being present for her son’s birth back in August 2022, and explained how it felt like a surreal experience.

Related: Khloe Kardashian talks about the challenges of surrogacy amid wanting more kids

“I definitely was in a state of shock from my entire experience in general,” Khloe explains. “I felt really guilty that this woman just had my baby and I take the baby and go to another room and you are separated. It felt like such a transactional experience because it is not about him. I wish someone was honest about surrogacy and the difference of it. But it doesn’t mean it is bad or good. It is just very different.”

During the surrogate’s pregnancy with Khloe and ex-partner Tristan Thompson’s son, news broke that Thompson had impregnated another woman prior to Tatum’s IVF conception—something Khloe didn’t find out about until the rest of the world did in late fall 2021. It’s clear she was enduring some major emotional and personal hurdles during that time and the months following, so it’s more than understandable that coupled with the surrogacy was likely a very trying time.

“I definitely buried my head in the sand during that pregnancy that I didn’t digest what was happening,” she says. “So I think when I went to the hospital that was the first time it really registered. It has nothing to do with the baby.”

Kim explained her own feelings about surrogacy vs. pregnancy, and how vastly different the experiences are despite both resulting in you having a biological child.

Related: Rebel Wilson says she felt ‘disconnected’ while using a surrogate to carry her child

“I do think that there’s a difference when the baby is in your belly,” Kim says. “The baby actually feels your real heart—think about it.”

But Kim also acknowledged the most important part of it all—that the connection will come, and it’s OK if it takes time.

“People connect in different ways.”